So Good To Be Bad
by Traveller'sSuitcase
Summary: Dick Grayson, an assistant to the Joker, began to form a growing interest in a certain dynamic duo. When finding a chance to speak to the Boy Wonder becomes too irresistible, Dick breaks into the hero's life, leaving Jason with the task of juggling being a teenager, a hero and his secret at the same time. Dick and Jason are the same age and this story contains both their POVs.
1. Chapter 1

So Good To Be Bad

Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.

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It was so funny how hard they tried, flipping around like slinkies as they dodged hits before throwing them right back. They were so serious, so boring, he had no idea how they could take it. Always frowning and working to get rid of the 'bad guys', it seemed like they would never let loose.

Robin was surrounded now, three men cornering him, but of course it was situation he had gotten out of a million times before, and using the wall to gain the extra push, he leaped right over their heads before using his leg to sweep against their own to cause them to fall to the floor. How long he must have trained to be able to do that, when he could have been having so much fun.

"Dick! Hurry up!" Really, what was these people's problem, now they were taking things seriously to. After all, he was only looking, which he had done many times before. Whenever the Joker faced a situation with Batman, Dick would always stay behind, waiting on a beam or behind some boxes to enjoy the show. He liked watching them, Robin especially. The boy only looked the same age as him, but already looked as miserable as Batman. It was an odd thing to watch, which somehow made it more interesting for him. Maybe he would ask him how he could be bothered some time, but for now, he did need to leave.

Dick got to his feet, giving one last glance behind him to find the duo cleaning things up, before bounding up to the beam above and swinging to repeat the process. That was another of his favourite things about a place like this, for a few minutes, he could be an acrobat again. Leaping, diving, flying; it was almost like home. Almost. But he had left that behind, he had moved on now, he was a different person.

Bang. An echoing bang from the sound of someone landing beside him. When had he stopped moving? Of course, when he began thinking. Dick made a mental note to work on his concentration, when he could care a bit more.

A carefree smile was back on his face as Dick Grayson turned towards the boy beside him, allowing himself to examine the bright costume and wonder how Batman let him leave the house wearing those tights.

"Robin. I've always wanted to meet you, I'm a big fan." The smile extended at the sight of a frown on the Boy Wonder's face. Of all the people he had enjoyed teasing, he was sure this would be one of his favourites.

"Who are you? Do you work for the Joker?" Although he could not see those eyes moving, he knew Robin was examining him, probably confused by his appearance. Unlike the masses of other fools who worked for the Joker, he did not dress based on his boss' choice of fashion. Dick was wearing the kind of clothes you can find on any boy on the street, with no signs of any join to the criminal world, which was usually very helpful in a getaway. Of course, this would leave Robin with the question of whether this was just some stalker fan putting himself in harm's way at the hope at being able to smell the cape. He had actually overheard girls discussing what he might smell like. Dick had always considered that a strange thing to think about, which was defiantly something coming from him.

"Well?" Ah, his mind had taken him away again. Dick put his focus back on the boy in front of him, clasping both of his hands together as his mind found something to say.

"How do you cope?" Finally, the chance to ask the question he was waiting for.

"Robin!" Or maybe not. The Bat's voice reminded Dick of his situation, causing his to sprint back into action, leaping up a bar.

"If you want to know more come here, tonight, ten pm." He instructed the Boy Wonder, grinning once again at the look of confusion on his face, before realising a hand was going to that belt.

"Ah, ah, that's not playing fair." Dick teased, as he increased the speed of his movement, quickly reaching the gap in the roof he was looking for, and squeezing himself through.

"Try fitting through there." He mumbled to himself, deciding he had one over Robin for now. He had always liked winning, ever since he was a little boy, robbing the bank and stealing people's houses in Monopoly.

"I decided against that." Dick groaned to the sound of the voice that he had become so used to hearing, as he spun on his heel to face the other boy.

"You really couldn't let me win?" He asked, with a fake pout, as he noticed the door to the roof that Robin had used. Distractions, he really needed to get rid of them.

"You can tell me what you are doing or you can go straight to jail." Nice try at a fierce voice, certainly learning off the master, but there was still something soft there which told Dick that he may be easier to wind up.

"Without passing go?" He offered, picking up on the last part of Robin's statement. A growl. Good, he was winning again, but that also meant he had to stay on top.

"Well, anyway, it's been nice chatting and all, but I have to get going. Ciao." Robin opened his mouth, but Dick did not give him a chance to talk, as he dropped the smoke bomb that he had been holding in the hand behind his back, allowing him the ability to escape through the veil it provided. The kid may be good, but he still had a lot to learn, that move was a pretty obvious one.

Distractions, Dick reminded himself as he began to run through the smoke, recalling the distance between himself and the edge as he jumped to the next roof top and hopefully disappearing into the distance with his fresh new smile. He had left a mystery, and if there was one thing he had learnt, that Batfamily seemed unable to resist one. So, let the fun begin.

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Hello people. Well, this is my first story on FF and I would love to hear what you all think of it so far, so if you can spare the time to review I will really appreciate it, I would love some tips of ways to improve.

I'm going to be doing the next chapter from Jason/Robin's point of view, and this story will move between both of their POVs. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and bye for now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Collision of Perceptions**

**Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.**

I would just like to take this as a quick moment to thank anyone who has offered support to this story so far. I really appreciate it, and really hope you enjoy this chapter so, here it is.

Also, I would like to warn you there is one use of foul language at the end from Jason, but it is only very light.

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In and out- that was all he was going to do. Simply enter, hear if he was working for the Joker, then leave. He really did not even care much for the idea of going; not at all, he just needed to make sure there was one less criminal on the street. Finishing convincing himself that he was less than curious about the boy, Jason shifted from his position at the top of the staircase to look between the banisters onto the floor below. Bruce was talking to Alfred, his voice just above a whisper, no doubt giving instructions about Jason himself. He was going away for the night, another 'unavoidable' business trip, but for once Jason was not going to complain. This would give him slightly more of a chance of being able to get out of the mansion unnoticed. Slightly. In only takes one day with Alfred to realise he knows what you are about to do before the thought could even cross your mind, meaning that getting to the Batcave, getting changed into the costume, and exiting the building without Alfred finding out would be difficult for Batman himself.

"Dinner, Master Jason." Jason watched as Alfred disappeared into the kitchen, his mind on perfect timing as always.

"I'm not really hungry." He tried, hoping Alfred would say he could eat later, leaving him the chance to leave whilst Alfred was still eating.

"You told me you were starving fifteen minutes ago." Oh, right, that. Jason cursed his memory before allowing his mind to slip into the making of a fresh lie.

"I don't really feel well; I think I just need to lie on the couch." Jason allowed his voice to falter, as if he felt strained to speak through a fresh snap of pain, but without becoming over dramatic. He had always been a good liar, even since he was young, with a tongue that was able to get him through the worst of situations. His mind was quick, and matched with complete control of his body, it was the combination for the perfect liar.

A hum could be heard from the kitchen, followed by the scrap of plates against the worktop and a rip of the opening of some container.

"I will make you some soup then, you can have it in bed." Jason groaned, allowing his head to crash into the banister with a thud. At this rate he would be lucky to get down the stairs…but maybe he would not have to.

A grin appeared on Jason's lips as the plan began to form in his mind for the perfect exit, starting with doing exactly as Alfred said. Jason got to his feet, pulling himself along to the carpet to avoid any suspicion before shutting the door behind him as he entered his bedroom. He had always kept his bedroom as 'organised chaos'; of course with Alfred cleaning that was defiantly not allowed. Now there were hills of different coloured boxes, which would lead to a mound of confusion from anyone trying to find anything in there, but for Jason everything was crystal clear. Only a few weeks after arriving in the manor, he had discovered that beneath his bed was a small trap door, just large enough for one box, which was where he knew he would find what he needed.

Lying himself against the floor so one of his arms could reach under the bed, Jason felt around the floor for the metal handle that he knew was lurking somewhere beneath there. Feeling a sudden swipe of cold, he realised he had found the handle and yanked it up so it was just high enough for the box to fit through

Despite strict rules of all Robin items staying in the Batcave, Jason still saw the chance that one day he may need them close to hand, and so when finding a spare Robin costume, it did not take much thinking to decide to break the rules just this once. Seeing the need to speed up, Jason began to quickly change out of his clothes and into the costume, throwing his own clothes in the laundry pile, which would hopefully mean that Alfred would check more rooms before realising he had left. Then, he placed the box back in the hatch, closing it over before making his way to the window.

It was a long way down from the floor that Jason was on, but what else are grappling hooks for? Jason opened the window, before swinging his hook to attach it a bar from the balcony on the floor above. It was time to find out what that boy really wanted.

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He was early. Jason cursed himself for being such a fool and leaving so soon, when it had barely began to get dark. Knowing Alfred he probably had some kind of tracker stuck to the back of Jason's head and would show up any minute, demanding he came home and ate some soup before he even got half a chance to find out about this boy. Maybe he would come early too. There was always the chance that he would want to make sure he did not miss meeting Robin. Then again, if he was working with the Joker that may mean that he was unpredictable, and probably even mentally ill.

"You're early." Jason quickly spun himself around, switching to a fighting stance at the surprise of the sudden appearance of a voice.

"Take a chill pill." Now able to locate the source, Jason lifted his head to look onto a broken down horse statue located to the right of the building, which the boy was lying on top of. He had been told the statue use to once have a man on his back, but no one could remember who. Whoever they were, he was sure they would not be wearing a thick wool jumper on a warm summer's night.

"I thought we were meeting inside." The boy continued, wrapping his arms around himself as if he cold, which left Jason even more confused; he was roasting hot inside the Robin costume.

"I wasn't going in there with someone who works for the Joker." As Robin, Jason's voice was always different. He tried to make it darker, colder, with the hopes of appearing more intimidating.

"You make it sound like a bad thing." He had rolled onto his stomach now, with his elbows resting on the shoulders of the horse and his head on his outstretched palms.

"You help kill people." Jason let it roll out in a hiss, but the smile on the boy's face only widened, as he began to swing his legs back in forth in a manner that reminded Jason of a child.

"What's meant to be doesn't pass you by. If they weren't meant to die, they wouldn't." Jason growled to that comment, beginning to step towards the now laughing boy.

"You're **so **funny when you're angry."

"Just tell me what you want!" Jason commanded, his voice finally rising to a shout as he grew impatient from the boy's careless nature. Jason had always had a temper, and even if it had become easier to control it since coming to live with Bruce, it would still come out at times when he was pushed to the edge.

"Well first of all," the boy rolled off the horse, unbelievably managing to land on his feet, before taking a single leap which left him standing right in front of Jason, "My name's Dick. Yes I know, you're honoured. Anyway, I need you to answer my question." Dick spoke so quickly he was barely understandable, as he bounced excitedly on the spot, before choosing to stand on his tip-toes. There was defiantly something not right with him, but what else could you expect from someone who spends time with the Joker?

"What question?" Now Jason spoke cautiously, wanting to step back from the boy who was right in his face.

"How do you cope?" Annoyance was clear in Dick's voice, as he settled back flat on his feet with a frown replacing that grin. "Honestly, you would think working for Batman you would have better memory."

"Cope with what?"

"Being so serious all of the time." Dick told him matter-of-factly, before grasping at the centre of his Christmas-style jumper to pull at the large red bobble that made Rudolf's nose.

"Serious?"

"Jees, are you deaf? Serious, boring, always working, taking everything so…well seriously with the crime fighting and all." Jason was not expecting a question like that. In fact, he believed no one had ever asked him anything like that in all his time of Robin.

"It's worth it, to help people." He told Dick, knowing that feeling that helping just one person gave.

"What about yourself? Don't you see how happy you could be if you just let everything go. Sure, a few people get killed, but the Joker makes sure they die happy, what more could you want? Laws are so strict and boring."

"Would you say that about someone who killed you parents?!" Jason snapped, unable to see how anyone could believe such nonsense, but still prepared for some simple, stupid answer that Dick would probably give back. But none came. Dick's eyes were now away from Jason, looking off to the sea where his now emotionless face was turned.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Jason's voice trailed off, as he allowed one of his hands to be place on Dick's shoulder. What was he doing? He should leave him, he obviously had no heart. But for once, Jason's body was not obeying his mind, as it overruled sense and told him to stay.

"It's fine." The voice was still cold, but the face turned back to him. "You just need to realise there's no such thing as justice."

"What are you talking about, Batman catches criminals every day."

"A few weeks in jail, then they escape. That's justice for killing someone? That is why there is no point fighting for people, because you will never get justice." Jason shook his head. Yes, he knew people like the Joker got out every time, but they still went back and caught him, they had still protected many lives from him.

"Is that why you work for the Joker?"

"I work for the Joker for a warm meal and a safe bed. It's just another job, like a secretary or a chef. Only difference is that you say what I do is wrong." Jason sighed in frustration. No matter what he said, it seemed impossible to get Dick to see it his way, that harming others is not made ok because you believe that justice is not an option.

"I don't think I will ever understand you." Jason admitted to him, which caused a smile to return to Dick's face.

"Good, I have seen that you like a good mystery."

"Seen?" Jason questioned, allowing himself to smile as for some reason he began to enjoy the conversation. Maybe that was due to the lack of conversation he usually received from those around his age. The richer ones did not want to speak to the 'charity case', and the poorer ones did not want to speak to the 'rich boy'.

"I've been watching you." Jason did not know whether to be creeped out by that statement or just accept that as something Dick would do. Well, he had not done any harm, yet.

"Right." He decided it was best to say no more than that, and no more was needed as Dick began to happily chatter away in a one-sided conversation about how boring Jason was, and how he needed to have more fun, and how he should start small like borrowing a book from the library and never returning it. Every now and again, Jason would add in a 'yes' or 'no' or a small comment of his opinion on a matter, also noticing now Dick would tend to repeat what he said several times, as if he was unsure if he was still listening.

"-and then you should probably get a new costume, I don't get why that one is so bright. I mean, I could understand having some red on your chest, being called Robin at all, but you kind of look like a moving tar-…was that a car?" Jason looked around, himself not hearing a sound.

"I didn't hear anything." Dick still paused, glancing around with something that almost looked like a hint of shock in those eyes.

"That was a car, I need to go." He insisted, taking a few steps backward, before looking back over in Jason's direction.

"I need to go." He repeated again before breaking into a sprint before Jason could utter a sound, leaving the clapping sound of boots against the ground as he left. Jason was only slightly surprised by the sudden leave, learning from his short time with Dick that his mind would quickly bounce away, making him quite unpredictable.

"Master Jason." Alfred was stood next to the car, tomato soup in one hand and a tracker remote in the other.

"Crap."

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Well, here is chapter two. I was not actually too happy with the way it turned out, but I still feel that it is necessary to keep the story moving. I would really love to know what everyone else thought of it, to let me know if it is ok or if I need to re-write it, so it you have the time I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review.

Anyway, I know at times Dick seems a little odd in this chapter, but everything will be explained later.

Obviously this is just the first real talk between Jason and Dick, as magic does not happen overnight people. They will start becoming closer in later chapters, which will also include more of Bruce as well as the Joker. Hope you stay tuned. That's all for now folks.


	3. Chapter 3

The Chef and Other Destanies

Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.

After a period of writer's block, new support has lead me to knuckle down and create this chapter. Please let me know if you all liked it.

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'A chef should look like a chef'- that had always been Milton's motto, and according to him that meant he was a perfect chef. When any of the workers would mention successful chefs that were of a healthy weight, he would come right back with his tales of working in some of the top restaurants in his day, and how he made soufflés that people would come from the other side of the world just to taste. How much of his stories were actually true, Dick had long decided he would never know, but he still loved to hear them. Stories beyond working with the Joker came few and far between from the workers, with only the chef offering something from a different time on the right side of the law.

"If you were so amazing why are you here?" It seemed as if he was telling one of the stories to a new recruit. Another disposable, poor thing, he probably only had a few weeks left of life before he 'knew too much'.

"I was sick of working for a boss, I wanted to be my own man, and this is my own little business."

"But you get paid by the Joker."

"But he does take tips." Dick finally spoke out, allowing his presence to be noticed by the only two people left in the eating hall.

"There you are. The Joker'll have your neck you know, he was looking for you." Milton warned him, swinging the ladle in his hand around as he spoke.

"I thought you said you would cover for me."

"Well I couldn't say where you were." Dick cursed himself for not remembering to create a cover story, as he sat himself down at one of the many tables and rested his head on his palms.

"Where were you?" The disposable asked, cutting his time short. Those who ask questions last an even shorter amount of time in a world where you should never question your orders.

"I don't see how that's any of your business, do you?" To Dick, Milton had been like a father, caring for him and protecting him in every way he could, but it was still easy to see how intimidating the large man could be to overs, as he towered over the disposable.

"I-I'm going to my room." The boy got up, rushing out of the room to get away from a man who could be possible of anything. You learnt that with working for the Joker, that anyone could be anyone, so it is best not to take the risk of messing with the wrong guy.

"How did it go?" Milton voices made an instant change into being gentle and warm, as the man seated himself opposite Dick, placing the ladle on the counter as he did so.

"Thanks, and I don't know. I mean, we did talk but… I don't know. I don't even know what I'm doing." Milton was always someone to vent to. Someone who when Dick is around him he can just let his walls down and dump the front. "I wanted to wind him up, but then I just starting talking to him."

"So, you've decided it is pointless and are now going to focus on you career working for the Joker?" Milton's voice was filled with a hope that Dick recognised as false. He knew him far too well for that.

"I want to find out who he really is."

"Woo, hold the bus there sailor, you cannot carry that kind of information about." The finger was out now, waving in the air the way it always did when some kind of excitement grew in Milton. "Plus, even if you did find that out, which would be impossible, what would you do with it? Go have a tea party?"

"No, I'm just curious. Anyway it is not impossible." Milton shook his head, getting to his feet once again as he waddled towards the sink.

"A saw a man he was with!" Dick shouted over, wanting to prove he did have a plan this time.

"A man? You think it was Batman?"

"No, he was old, but if I could find him I could probably find who Robin was." Another dubious look was sent in Dick's direction, as the man went to washing the dishes. "Honest, I really did see him, I ran away and climbed the back roof and he was there with Robin."

"And you don't think it was just a passer-by wanting to see what crime was taking place?"

"He might have gone in the car with him.

"Exactly, Dick, might. You're not even sure of what you've saw, this nonsense has to come to a close, you're playing with fire and you know what happens to people who do that. Anyway, the Joker had a job for you, ask Joey and he should have it. That's what should be on your mind, not some fool running around in a cape." Of course Milton would try to change the subject, hoping Dick would just forget about the Boy Wonder and work at what he did best, but Dick was the kind of person who liked to get what he wanted, and once he set his mind to something that was not about to change any time soon. For this very reason, he decided it was time to do what Milton wanted and go back to the job; the longer he stayed here the more ideas Milton was giving him of ways to catch the bird. Setting fire to his cape and then checking boys around his age for a burn… focus Grayson.

"Ok, Mil, I'll get on it."

"You better, he's in the card room."

Between jobs, some of the workers would socialise through card games, as words easily ran out when you were limited of details of your day you were allowed to discuss. The 'card room' had been a spare room used for item storage, when one day a worker had moved some boxes to form a makeshift table and chair, and thus the card room was born.

"Joey!"

"Here." Joey was one of the more experienced workers, arriving here three years before Dick had. He had easily done well in the environment, with his father being a worker before him, meaning he already had the built in ability to know when to speak or not so quickly moved up through the ranks.

"Ah, if it isn't the famous magician. Ready for another disappearing act?"

"Hilarious Joey, now give me the job." Joey got to his feet, glancing up and down at the boy in the doorway before shaking his head.

"He wanted this letter to go to the Riddler, but you won't have time, it's due in an hour." Joey threw a small white envelope in Dick's direction that was easily caught between his hands.

"I'll do it." Dick spoke confidently, but so he should. He had been working for the Joker since he was nine years old, being a mail carrier for all that time. Whenever a message needed delivering to someone the Joker was working with (or blackmailing) and he did not want to go in person, or have anyone seen entering, Dick would be sent. He was small, fast and agile, perfect for the job, and one hour would be more than enough time.

"Riddler, here I come."

* * *

"The Riddler?"

"Yes, it appears he has another crime planned."

"So he's left a riddle for us to figure out?"

"I have already done it, I know his exact location. I believe he is working with the Joker."

"The Joker? What would the Joker want with the Riddler?"

"I don't know, but we are going to find out." Instantly, the Batmobile came to a stop, the engine giving a final hum before dying into the silence of the night. It had never really felt serious to catch the Riddler for Robin, after all compared to villains like the Joker he was an angel, but he could tell that Batman thought there was much more to this, especially with the mention of the Joker.

"There is a window in the top floor at the back of the warehouse, we will enter through there." Warehouses often seemed a popular destination for criminals, probably because they were out of the way and often went unchecked, but he could not recall a time when the Riddler had used a warehouse in this part of Gotham. Maybe the Joker had selected it for him.

Upon reaching the window, the duo paused, taking a moment to examine the scene inside before making an entrance. The place was empty other than a desk in the centre which the Riddler was sat behind, opening an envelope in his hands. Other than the Riddler, there was another figure in the room, but in the darkness they were too hard to make out.

"There are too many in here, I asked for nine and he's gave me ten." The Riddler complained, dumping the contents of the envelope on the table. Small metal circles, again it was too dark to be able to be sure exactly that they were.

"You'll have to take the spare one back then." The other person must have replied, as the Riddler handed one of the circles to the outstretched hand offered.

"Now, tell the Joker I'll insert these on Friday and I'll write the blackmail letters on Tuesday." That was all they needed to hear, as Batman signalled to Robin to follow his lead as he leaped to the ground below. Robin took more cautiously steps, still maintaining a slight fear of the height, or more so the landing as he bended his legs a few times to get the perfect spring before setting himself off to the floor below.

"Batman." A growl and a signal and the Riddler had a gang of men appear from the darkness so he could make his getaway. It was nothing new, and Robin was more than ready for the 'surprise' attack, perfectly aiming a kick in the chest of the first man who approached him.

A fist, a leg, Robin dodged them all, giving back more than they gave. It had always puzzled Robin as to why they could not simply train up the men, not that he was going to complain anytime soon. Now, he was face to face with a large man, someone who with the proper training would be a serious threat. A slide and a kick and Robin had pushed the man off balance, causing him to grab at Robin, but he only managed to receive a glove in his fall. A good luck punch was given to make sure he was defiantly out before Robin reached for his glove, but he was beaten to it. A small, fast moving hand dived in front of his own to take the glove from the man's hand and hold it between his own.

"Softer than I expected." Dick. What was he doing here? Robin tried to stop surprise from putting him off, but he was really unsure what to do. Surely the Riddler would not send a small thing like him to fight.

"So? You want it back or not?" In-between his thoughts, Robin had failed to notice that the glove was now being held in front of his face. Robin pulled it out of Dick's hands, putting it back on his own and noticing an unusual coldness, which he chose to ignore.

"You should leave here."

"Yes sir." No argument, no comments, Dick turned around and began to stroll away as if they had just passed on a busy street. It was odd, but Robin had bigger things to focus on, like helping Batman find clues from here and getting back in time to accept a punishment of cleaning between the cracks that Alfred had offered in exchange for him not telling Bruce. It was an odd thought, how he was beginning to be able to separate the lives of Robin and Jason. Now, he had a mind for his Jason worries and a mind for his Robin worries, both of which having the question of if he was developing some kind of split personality disorder. Shaking what he told himself was nonsense out of his head, Robin rushed over to Batman, watching as he counted the metal disks in his hand.

"They're trackers, and there's only nine now. Whoever delivered them must have left." Delivered. Joker. Dick must have been the one who delivered the trackers, which brought his mind to the cold feeling in his glove. Robin removed it, turning his back to Batman so he could not see as he turned it inside out. A tracker, blinking away as it sourced his position. He should remove it, get rid of it and tell Batman about Dick, so why didn't he want to? For the first time in his life, Robin felt as if he wanted someone to know his real identity, for some reason he felt as if it was not wrong.

"Robin, we're leaving." Robin slipped his glove back on his hand, before quickly following after Batman. They would catch the Riddler and the Joker, Dick was not involved in that. No one would have to know, and he could not do much harm anyway, right? It was too late for second guessing now as Robin sat himself in the Batmobile, giving one last glance to his glove before a smile broke on his face. Everyone has to break the rules once in a while, maybe it was time to have a little fun.

* * *

I guess this isn't a very eventful chapter, but this leads perfectly into Dick being involved in Jason's life as well as Robin's and gives the opportunity for proper meetings and the development of their relationship. It also gives a bit of Dick's back story, and tells more of what he does for the Joker. So, tell me if you all liked it, if it needs changing, if you have any questions- I'm all ears.


	4. Chapter 4

The Rich are Rude

Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.

As I often do I would like to start by thanking people for follows, favourites and reviews. I would also like to remind everyone this is the last chapter I am putting up before I go on holiday. I am going away for a week, leaving on Saturday the 17th and returning home on Saturday the 24th, so the next chapter will be a couple of day after my return. Hopefully you will all like let me know what you think of this as I am doing it in a different way with POVs, so I will look forward to returning to find out. Anyways, here it is.

* * *

He was quiet. Too quiet. In fact, if it was not for his appearance, he would not have recognised the boy at all. He was sitting on the cold tile floor, some kind of device in one hand and a pen in the other as he seemed to be marking out some directions on a map. 'Odd kid' he thought to himself, as he allowed himself to ignore the behaviour and carry on washing the dishes. After all these years, he had become use to the child doing unusual pointless things that had just became part of his character, after all, he could not blame him for being a little messed up.

Clank. The pen was dropped and the map was picked up, as he stared at it with intense concentration.

"Everything fine, Dick?" He asked, placing another cup in the soapy water.

"I'm tracking, Mil." Milton shook his head, though the smile growing on his face gave him away.

"And what would you happen to be tracking?" He asked, unsure if he really wanted an answer.

"Where's this?" The question being ignored meant one thing; Dick had done something Milton had told him not to, and Milton could think of one thing in particular.

"You've put a tracker on Robin, haven't you?" Milton's tone changed into that of an angered father, knowing that would give him the warning to reveal the truth, not that he would have the ability to change his mind. Despite caring for Dick as his own and teaching him much about life he had still not perfected one part of being a parent figure, getting him to do as he was told.

"Yes, and I know where he is. Well, not exactly. I know he's here, I just don't know what here is." His finger pointed to a green part of the map, some distance off the rest of Gotham as a proud smile took over his face.

Milton was never usually a nosey man, but the key behind Batman's identity being held to your face was far too much for any man to ignore. Milton took the map off Dick, looking to the point and working it out by its distance from central Gotham. Through the West, large area…It could not be, but it looked like that space was Wayne manor.

"So?" Dick's voice broke Milton's chain of thought, as he handed the map back to the boy.

"That's a place you can't go." He told him simply, hoping he would leave it alone but knowing him far better than that.

"Where's a place I can't go?"

"Nice try." Milton knew the boy would find out anyway, he would probably try to walk it if no one would tell him, but part of him still held on to the hope he would go through an overnight change.

"Come on, Mil, if you don't tell me I'll ask Joey." Well, he could always hope. Milton sighed as he held out his hand for the map to be handed back so he could check it one last time, he had to be sure.

"It's Wayne manor, but you are not going there. One, you will never get past the front gate and two, there is a party there tonight." Milton waited for a reaction but the boy's face stayed flat as he looked back over to the map.

"Okay." The voice sounded deflated as Dick turned on his heel and began to drag himself back down the corridor, but Milton did not miss that slight smile, lasting only a moment, that snuck onto his face.

"Get the thought of going there right out your head!"

"What thought?" The voice was coated in an innocence that almost made Milton laugh as Dick continued to force each step away.

"What thought my arse." He muttered, giving one last glance to the boy with a rough shake of his head. Milton made a mental note at the moment, hire a lion tamer, and get these dishes clean.

* * *

It was so itchy. If this was what all the rich people's clothes felt like, he was fine where he was.

"Stop picking at it!" Joey complained, fixing the back of the suit jacket into place.

"I can't help it." Dick shook his body to cause Joey to take his hands of him as he turned his attention back to the gate.

"You should be thankful I got you anything to wear at all. Now, remember the plan, the gate opens, you go in and-"

"Be quick and get back out." Dick finished, growing bored of the constant checks. He could not really blame Joey for them, since it was what he had become accustomed to after working for the Joker all of these years, but he really needed to learn the different between work and his actual life.

"There!" Joey pointed to a set of lights shining towards them, giving Dick the warning of the car's approach.

"You got it?"

"Yes, just go." Dick snapped, just wanting to hurry up with the task at hand. Talking of the task, Dick stepped back into the shadow of the wall, making himself invisible to the passing car that was now slowing as it approached the gates. A hum and they were opening, allowed the car to enter the premises, and Dick with it as he waited until it passed before slipping through the closing gap.

"Don't be overly stupid." Joey called to him from the other side, as he too stepped out of hiding. "And don't forget to pay me back." A nod and Joey was gone, leaving Dick to get on with his plan alone. He had thought this through in his mind many times, but part of him was still nervous of the reception he might receive as he began to walk up the path leading to the manor.

The door of the building had been left open, revealing the inviting glow from the lights inside. Despite being so large, it had a cosy feel making it feel like the home it should be, the only thing breaking the feel being the mass of people that littered the building.

Dick stepped into the room, immediately feeling out of place against the jewels that covered every lady's neck and the designer labels behind each item of clothing. He was a pigeon amongst doves, but he could not leave now, he had to do what he had come to. Dick began to scan the people around him, searching for someone who could be Robin. There were only a handful of boys in the room around his age, and some he could clear off straight away from hair colour and other features, so that left two. One boy was laughing inside a group of elderly men, a bright but unfamiliar smile on his face as he began to reply to a man next to him. His voice strained, as if it was very painful to speak, with that becoming the final feature to prove he was not Robin. The other boy was silent, sitting on a chair in the corner of the room looking far beyond bored. No smile, no voice, nothing to be sure, but Dick had took a risk getting here, and did not mind taking a risk to find what he had come for. He approached the boy, a slight smile forming on his face as he stood next to him from the knowledge of how close he could be to his prize.

"Hi." Dick greeted to catch his attention as he dropped into the seat beside him. The eyes looked up for a moment, seeming to show no recognition before they looked down once again.

"I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long." Dick froze, the words stabbing into him as panic rose. Had he returned then found the tracker? Was he angry? Dick waited for him to say more as he planned a back-up exit in his mind.

"Did you really think I would not realise it was there? I think it took me two minutes." Two minutes? He could not have finished up in the warehouse in only two minutes.

"You wanted me to find you?" Dick questioned, caught off guard by the reveal. None of it made any sense to him.

"I suppose I did. The name's Jason by the way." A hand was offered by Jason, but Dick did not take it as his confusion maintained its hold on the majority of his mind.

"This makes no sense."

"You're telling me." Dick began his attempt to break through his confusion, trying to find a plausible explanation for Jason's actions, but only finding one, that did not even seem that plausible at all.

"Do you…like me?" He asked, unable to keep a slight hint of hope from escaping through his voice.

"To be honest, I don't know. You are…different to anyone else I have ever met." A grin exploded on Dick's face as he began to ignore Jason and let his mind run instead. He had won, Robin was going to let him spend time with him and he had won.

"What are you smiling at?"

"I won." Dick told him simply, before giving a slight jump as he felt a hand on his shoulder. A young, smartly dressed man had a plate held out to Dick, offering a selection of oddly coloured blobs that he assumed was food.

"Erm, no thanks." He tried, which seemed to work as the man trotted off to elsewhere.

"Is everyone this rude here?" Dick asked, but Jason only laughed as he got to his feet.

"Come on, we'll discuss this somewhere else." Jason signalled for Dick to follow as he began to walk off towards the stairs, causing a more than eager Dick to follow.

"What's to discuss?" He asked, as his eyes were pulled towards the beauty of the paintings that brought vibrancy to the walls.

"Well you can't just keep showing up every time there is a party. We need to decide times and places to meet."

"Hm." Dick's attention had now almost completely left Jason as he was now focusing on one painting in particular, showing an important, stern looking man sitting behind a desk. He remembered when he was taken to museums by his parents when he was a child and how he would stare at paintings of people for hours, wondering who they were, what they were like, what they had seen. Sometimes, he would make up his own stories for them from the start to end of their lives, he had never considered it pointless then, but something made him pass the opportunity now. It was moments like this that gave him the cold realisation that he had changed, which was something that scared him more than anything else. He would give the world to be that happy, carefree little boy again, but he had died with his parent and was never coming back.

"Are you listening to me?" Jason's voice pulled Dick out of his thoughts, which he became suddenly thankful for, he had needed the distraction.

"Not really."

"I was saying do you have Wednesdays or Thursdays free?" Dick tried to think back to his schedule, but struggled. He had always used Milton as his personal planner, allowing himself to lose the dreaded responsibility. He knew it was one day in the middle of the week that he used for sleeping and stuffing his face, but whether it was Wednesday or Thursday, he had no clue.

"Err…Thursday?" He tried, deciding that if it was not free he could always worm his way out of his duties.

"Ok, meet me at the bottom of the road at four." Jason instructed, grapping Dick's arm to prevent him continuing to walk off. He could have sworn he had promised himself he would work on his concentration a week ago…

"Sure." Dick agreed, making a mental note to write that on his arm and making another mental note to remember a mental note for a change.

"That's tomorrow." Jason added, before using the arm he still had hold of to spin Dick around again.

"And you need to go now."

"Rude rich people." Dick joked, though he began to comply with the request. He was beginning to curse himself for saying so little, but in all honesty the whole thing was done in shock. Maybe he should join the Girl Guides so he could always 'be prepared'. With that final thought, Dick left the building, not sparing a second glance behind him as he began to walk towards the gates. Wait, the gates, they were shut. Dick may have had very limited knowledge of these kind of people, but he did know how long their parties went on for.

Finding the driest area of grass possible, as most of it was coated in dew from the day's rain, Dick sat himself down in the shadow of the wall, deciding that for once Milton was right- The Boy Wonder was defiantly was not worth it.

* * *

So, I did Milton's POV for a change here and I would love to know what you thought of that, and I even managed to get a reference to the first chapter, I'm getting pretty good at these last minute updates.

Now, for all you thinking 'this is the slowest moving story in the world', I put the cogs in place so they can now...turn.

Ok, so now I'm off on my holidays, wish me a good time.


	5. Chapter 5

Wannabes

Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.

This may surprise you all, but I am still alive. Unfortunately, my head has been pretty full with my own problems and I could not have cared less about writing. Never the less, I have returned, here I am, and here is the next chapter.

* * *

"I feel bad."

"Meow."

"Guilty, I mean. I should never have done any of this."

"Meow."

"I can't believe he hasn't realised though, he knows everything."

"Meow."

"Maybe he does know… No, of course he doesn't. He's been busy recently, he just hasn't noticed yet, but he will."

"Meow."

"Maybe I shouldn't even go."

"Meow."

"Maybe I'm talking to a cat."

"Meow." The cat agreed once again, tossing one of its paws lazily in the air to shoo off a passing moth before resuming its original regal posture upon the rock. Every now and again the creature would bother to make the journey up to the manor in the hopes of finding something left out for it to eat, and then go off to someone else's home offering affection in exchange for its needs. Jason had always hated the thing and its fickle ways, but something about talking to a cat seemed a little less insane than talking to yourself.

"I'll just go and tell him I've changed my mind. Maybe he'll leave it alone." No reply this time, as the cat was already half way down the path looking for something more useful to spend its time on.

"Master Jason." Jason immediately got to his feet in response to Alfred's call, looking over to see the man standing at the door of the manor. Alfred had the kind of voice that could barely whisper and yet instantly grab your attention, like that of a story teller rather than a butler.

"Master Bruce has called to speak with you." He told, presenting a telephone into view. Bruce had left the previous night after the party for another important business trip abroad, something which was not unusual for the man. When he was younger Jason had often hated him for leaving, gaining an anger only tamed by regular calls which Jason now insisted were only continued due to habit, however he was unable to prevent the fresh smile on his face when he approached the butler to receive the call. He allowed the guilt to fall out of his mind as he quickly talked of desperately unimportant things, forming the attitude of a young child for a few minutes before another meeting led to the finishing of the conversation.

Surely the same man on the other end of that phone would forgive Jason if this was all a big mistake? On the other hand, was it worth the risk? He could probably question himself in his mind for all eternity, but this was something he had to decide now. Reaching into his pocket for the smooth metal edge of the coin, he retrieved the item and held it between his two fingers before tossing it in the air.

"Suppose I'll have to risk feeling like Two-Face." He told himself, allowing the coin to land on the back of his hand which he quickly covered with his palm.

"Tails."

* * *

"Cats can never be properly domesticated. They can never love you with the whole of their hearts or be loyal beyond doubt, and that's because they are like humans. You can't trust humans, you can't trust cats." The man ran his pale hand through the lion's rough mane before pointing to a pot on the top shelf.

"Get it for me, will you lad. Need to put my scars on." The small boy uncrossed his legs and got to his feet, tip-toeing over to the shelf to get the required pot for the tamer.

"Fake scars make it more dramatic, you see." He told the boy as if he had not heard it hundreds of times before. "And ladies love a man with scars." The laugh came out as a hoarse cough, as the tamer gave several punches to his chest as if to release the air.

"I prefer the elephants." The boy told him honestly, although he still ran his hand through the already-tame creature's fur.

"And I like chickens, but I can't see anyone paying me to tame them, they won't be paying me for these either too. See, you got it easy kid, what you do is no trick, it takes skill. People will always want to see what you do, but not what I do, not forever."

"Ah, there you are." A man's head peeped through the gap of the door, offering a shy smile as if from fear of intrusion.

"Daddy!" The boy was in the man's arms in an instant, wide smile seeming to cover all of his face.

"You should keep a better eye on that boy, John; you don't want anyone taking him." The tamer warned, finishing the final outline of the scar against his arm.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tony, no one would ever take him." The father gave a single kiss to his child's forehead, before carrying him out of the room. "You should never listen to Tony, he talks nonsense."

"Hello?"

"Hello?!"

"Hello?!"

Dick's eyes shot open, not that he had realised they were shut, to find a familiar face looking over him.

"Jason?"

"Who else would it be?" He asked sarcastically, seating himself beside the other boy on the wall. "Were you asleep then?"

"I think I was having a flashback."

"A flashback?"

"To be honest I'm struggling to tell the difference between dreams and my past." He admitted, shaking his head to bring himself alert and back to the situation.

"What are you doing here anyway?" He asked, jumping off the wall to prevent a numb feeling growing in his limbs from staying still for far too long.

"We agreed to meet here." Jason reminded, while Dick began to circle a brick that had long fell off the wall and now rested in a nest of moss on the floor.

"You still shouldn't be here." He pointed out, before picking Jason as the next thing to circle. "Especially without a gift."

"Why would I bring a gift, you've done nothing for me. In fact, you should have brought a gift for me."

"That's a lie. Think of all the joy I have brought into your life."

"Stress more like."

"You're boring."

"You haven't given me a chance." Dick paused at that, taping his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he thought.

"Fair enough, climb that tree and jump out of it." Dick lifted his hand to present the largest tree within the whole of Gotham, a wild grin appearing on his face.

"I think you have a pretty messed up opinion of fun." Jason told him, putting a protective hand to the back on his neck which he did not wish to be broken. "Fun usually doesn't end in broken bones."

"A smaller tree?" Dick offered, pointing to the one beside it which only seemed to lack one foot that the other had gained.

"No. How about we go into central Gotham?" He suggested, leaving Dick longingly looking to the tree behind him.

"What's there?" He asked, despite knowing the answer would not be trees.

"Well we could get something to eat, or just go…" Dick watched as Jason rubbed his face with both hands, seemingly upset with the decision.

"Is the food bad there?" Jason let out a small muffled laugh, before bringing his hands back to his side.

"No, I just really know I should not be doing this, this is really stupid."

"The fair is in the West somewhere, if central is bad."

"You really don't get the point do you?" Jason questioned, leading to Dick presenting an innocent smile to the other boy.

"I'm actually really good you know, especially at that game where you have to get the ball into the bucket. I've won a hell of a lot of fishes."

"There's no such thing as fishes, it is fish." He corrected, although a smile had returned on his face from Dick's avoidance of the subject.

"No, I really have won more than one. Probably seven."

"It's still fish."

"You sound like Marty, he use to pretend that more than one sheep was still sheep, which is really stupid."

"Very." Jason agreed, following Dick further down the road.

"Hey, are you any good at the shooting game, I can never do the ducks, the yellow puts me off."

"I'm actually a pretty good shot."

"Good, because I want to win a bear this time, my old pillow had a huge hole in. See, last January I was trying to fix the spring in my bed, it's worn out you see, but I couldn't reach the top corner…"

* * *

Well, I suppose the coin bit was a little typical, but hey, I like predictable. I'm leaving going to the fair for the next chapter, and using this as an in-between chapter which means at least I am writing again. So, leave reviews if you can and thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Unfun-Unfair

Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.

New chapter time. I actually went a little blank on deciding how to go about this, but I hope everyone finds it turns out alright.

* * *

"First thing you can win me a bear; they always have the biggest bears at the shooting game." Jason swore that if he heard where to find the biggest bears one more time he would lose his mind. Dick seemed to have the tendency not to tell a story once, but fifteen times, and just asking him to stop would be the most ridiculous idea you could ever have because he had defiantly not told you this part before, or you were not listening the first time because that was a completely different story, not that he did not talk quickly enough to fill in every detail of the last year of his life, from breaking his bed to chasing a sheep.

"-Don't you think that's unfair?"

"Um, er, yeah." Jason answered, not having a clue to what Dick was referring to; it became quite easy to switch off as he spoke.

"I knew you would see it my way. Of course, you'll buy everything for me here."

"Wait, what?"

"As you just said, it was unfair he didn't buy everything for me. Honestly Jason, you have the memory of a squirrel." Dick was certainly a lot of thing, but it looked like stupid wasn't one of it.

"Do you really have to trap people like that? And what have squirrels got to do with anything?"

"Me? Trap someone? I could be offended. Anyway, what haven't squirrels got to do with anything?" Jason simply shook his head, deciding against getting into it as the pair continued to walk down the path, with a sudden, brilliant silence.

"I think we're lost." Or maybe not. Jason shot his head towards Dick, offering a warning glare to keep quiet after that last annoyance.

"I was just saying, and this is taking far too long. Are you leading me off to the middle of the forest to kill me where no one will ever find me?"

"Trust me, it is tempt-" Jason was cut short by a sudden warm pressure against his arm which Dick had wrapped his own around.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure we don't get separated." Dick told him simply, bringing Jason's attention to the empty path they stood on.

"What could possibly separate us?"

"I know, we are meant to be." Jason simply scoffed at the statement, which Dick seemed to take as an invite to continue. "However there are the hordes of jealous fangirls hidden in the bushes, not to mention all the angry squirrels you have insulted."

"Hilarious, but seriously get off me." Jason shook his arm, which Dick did not respond too, only tightening his grip. Jason had never been one for physical contact and something about it had always made him feel uncomfortable, therefore a sharper twist was delivered the next time, although it was still not enough to deter Dick's grip.

"I will push you over."

"That's mean."

"Get off."

"Why don't you love me?"

"Why don't you get off?" This time, Dick finally seemed to pay some attention, unhooking his arm from Jason's and allowing it to flop back down to his side.

"This is the most unfun, unfair funfair I have ever been too." He commented, kicking his heel against the ground.

"We're not at the funfair, in fact we probably should have come across it an hour again."

"Oh, right, about that." The lack of confidence in Dick's voice grabbed Jason's attention and concern.

"What have you done?"

"Nothing I just… well maybe there isn't an actual funfair, more of a funfair of the mind." There were a few moments of silence as Jason took in what Dick had told him, watching him blankly.

"You made it all up?" He questioned, not understanding who in their right mind would completely make up a place and have them walk to a fake destination. Then again, when had Dick ever shown him he was in his right mind?

"Maybe we should go back to your place. We could play Draughts, do you like Draughts?"

"You brought me to the middle of nowhere for nothing?"

"If you don't like Draughts we could play Chess. I'm not entirely sure I know the rules, but you could teach me."

"Dick, this is completely ridiculous!" Jason stepped away from the other boy, rubbing his fingers against his temples.

"I'm sorry, I just lie sometimes, I can't help it. If it makes things better, even I believed it." Jason sighed, unable to hold his anger towards the other boy.

"I am sorry." Dick had moved right into Jason's square of personal space now, keeping just a few inches between the two boys, making Jason want to instinctively step backwards but something kept him still.

"I know, and it's fine. Just something I'm going to have to get use to with you." Jason's comment caused a fresh grin to be plastered against Dick's face, along with another step forward.

"So you still like me?"

"You just want me to say it." Jason replied, although a smile had returned to his own face. Something about the innocent side to Dick was refreshing, and he could not help but be drawn to it. "Anyway, I have a ton of spare pillows back home, and I guess you could borrow one. You'll have to be quiet though, if Alfred hears you I'm dead."

At this Jason's smile was quickly removed, as was the distance between the pair, as Dick wrapped his arms around the other boy in an awkward hug like it was being given by someone who barely knew how to perform such an easy action.

"Thanks." Jason remarked half-heartedly, as he forced back Dick's arm which were locked in place like a sloth against a tree.

"I'll be as silent as a mouse; you won't know I'm there."

* * *

Jason was beginning to realise Dick was not a man of his word. At every moment he seemed to find another comment he needed to give about the size of the place, or a choice of decoration, or another question he needed to ask about everything and anything. Thankfully, Alfred should be asleep at this time, as Jason's excuse of spending the night at a friend's house seemed to have worked, although at times the man seemed to know more than Batman.

"Right, there should be some at the end of this corridor, in the cupboard." He whispered to the boy next to him, who had become silent thanks to his interest being snapped up by the painting of an old Wayne hanging at the top of the stairs.

"He looks so grumpy." Was the only reply given, as Dick's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "This defiantly would not have been the painting I would pick for people to remember me by. I'd defiantly ask for my money back." Jason only shook his head at that, as he turned his back on Dick to scurry over to the cupboard and reach in for a pillow.

"One or two?" He asked, but after getting no answer he decided to repeat again louder. "One or two?!"

"I don't believe I asked for any Master Jason." Jason almost jumped out of his skin to the sound of Alfred's voice beside him.

"Oh, erm…" Jason paused, looking around to see that Dick had disappeared, hopefully hiding himself from the man. "I don't know how I got here; I must have been sleepwalking." He tried, shutting the cupboard and stepping away.

"And you often sleepwalk without me realising? Let alone gaining the ability to slip between two different voices."

"I use to do it all the time when I was younger; I would scare the life out of people." Jason continued to lie, although that look on Alfred's face told him all too well it was not working.

"And you would also separate yourself into two bodies, one of which throwing themselves down the stairs and running out of the house? Do you need me to return the other part?"

"…I can explain." Jason began, but that was also where he stopped. This was something he defiantly had no way of worming out of, either way he had done something wrong.

"Ok, a friend needed a new pillow so I said I would give them one.

"And why so late at night without asking?"

"You don't know them, and I didn't want to have to go through a ton of questions from Bruce when he found out." There was then silence as Alfred thought it through, obviously knowing there was something more, but lacking the evidence.

"I still believe an introduction is necessary, at least with me."

"Right, we'll sort that another day." Jason finished, not wanting to continue the conversation any longer.

"This matter can be sorted another day, but that of them ripping a smile into one of Master Bruce's favourite paintings is one we should probably discuss now."

* * *

Once again a pretty short one. The job of this chapter is to give Jason more of an insight to Dick's switching mental state, and allow him a point to accept it, as well as breaking down a few of Jason's walls. Leave me a review if you can to let me know if you think I did ok or if this chapter should have been handled in a different way. Thanks.


	7. Chapter 7

Punishments

Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.

I have rewritten this many times, and still do not like this chapter. Something about it is…wrong, to me. However, this version is the one I can live with posting. I wanted to use this as a way of showing the great contrast of the boy's lives through those they 'work' for. Probably wrong to say this, but I actually preferred writing Dick's part to Jason's, I'm terrible at being nice to characters.

Anyway, on with the show-

* * *

It is an odd sensation, pure joy mixed with concern. It left a strange taste, but one he could cope with due to the battle being won by one. Yes, Jason was ecstatic, not that he wanted show it. Although he was probably considered far too old to get hyped up over Bruce returning, that did not stop him from spending the whole day with a Joker-like smile plastered across his face that he was unable to remove, even when Alfred reminded him of the upcoming punishment.

"It's almost nine." Jason moaned into his sleeve as Alfred cleaned each and every miniscule crumb that had been left around him.

"He is probably being held in traffic delays, Master Jason." Alfred offered, taking a step back to review his work before moving on to the next task.

"He's probably decided he would rather stay in a hotel somewhere and-" Jason's delivery of Bruce's 'evil' plan was stopped by the clicking sound of the front door opening.

"Bruce?" Jason questioned, although he already knew who was there as he leaped to his feet and was at Bruce's side in a matter of moments.

"Ah, Jason, Alfred told me-" Immediately, Jason's face fell, with all thoughts of giving the man the childish welcome being banned from my mind.

"Oh yeah, Bruce, straight with all the things I've done wrong. I never will be good enough will I?" He snapped, shoving the man in front of him, although he knew it would only give him a slight knock to his balance, before storming up the stairs at speeds that he was sure the man would not bother attempting to copy, since Jason was clearly not his priority.

"'I'll be like your dad', yeah right." Jason muttered, stumbling into his room and shoving the door behind him. He would probably also complain about this not being clean enough too, not that he at all cared what he though. Bruce was not his dad, he never would be, and he defiantly could not stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

"I couldn't have picked anyone worse to live with."

* * *

"How could you forget that delivery?"

"Relax, it'll be fine."

"No, it will not be fine! If he is having a bad day he will kill you on the spot!" Milton sighed, lowering his head into his large hands in distress. He had tried to do everything to protect the boy, everything, but the common sense Dick lacked was unavoidable. The decisions he made always took place last minute, with him clearing his mind to set it on one goal, which seemed to even mean tossing out the most important rule, just do the job. However, Dick was not concerned, with his mind still bubbling from his ridiculous ideas with the Bat's boy that just furthered Milton's concern; there's nothing worse than facing the Joker's anger unprepared, and the boy should know that all too well. Dick had taken beatings and then some from the Joker in the past, but it was almost like as soon as it had happened he would clear it from his mind, a coping mechanism perhaps, or just another fault from the boy's mental state.

"Listen, if things get bad just curl up in a ball and make sure your head is covered." The giant man instructed, although no attention was still being paid to him, as Dick happily cut out the Scarecrow's face to allow him to finish his Scarecrow/Police Officer/Poodle/Burrito/Riddler collage created from a newspaper and advertising leaflet.

"He must go to school. Do you think he's there now?" More rambling from the obsessed boy, although as much as he wanted to Milton could not say this behaviour was new. Every year he seemed to find something new to focus his entire life around, which usually could be stopped with an easier to manage distraction, such as bubble wrap or certain colours, but they had not worked this time.

"The Joker wants to see you now." Joey, one of the more experienced young men. He had been here long enough to lose most of his sensitivity, now only offering Milton a reassuring smile, which was probably only given to get himself some extra pie. That was something he was grateful to Dick for, he had allowed him to keep his humanity.

"Come on, Dick, let's go." Of course, the chef was more than aware Dick was expected to go in alone, but with his mental state at a low right now, he would do his best to stay by his side for as long as possible. That was something that took a while to get used to, that one moment it could be like talking to any normal boy, and the next you're with a complete wreck.

"My delivery." The voice was ponderous, holding back any clear intention as the pair entered the room. The room the Joker used for speaking to his staff was very a small one, possibly only a tenth of the size of the eating hall, and horribly lighted, leaving your only sight as some spots being darker than the others, which did allow him to find the outline of the Joker.

Dick was fidgeting now beneath the man's firm grip on that bony shoulder. Perhaps something in his mind had clicked causing sanity to return, although Milton was not sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Where did it go, Francis?" Milton froze at that, some surprise surging from the use of the first name he had long abandoned.

"I forgot it." It was Dick that spoke, with a strength to his voice that told the chef that he was more than aware of his situation once again.

"Hmm… you can leave Francis." The Joker's voice was pleasant, far too pleasant.

"That's ok, I don't mind staying." The Joker giggled at that, as usual finding a joke where there was none to be found with a wild insanity that had always made each day working with him a great risk.

"You crack me up." He told Milton, his outline straightening to show he had previously been bending slightly, although Milton was not about to ask why. "No, just leave." Of course, Dick made no protest to the request, only dropping his head to look at the ground, the memory of what was about to come defiantly in his mind.

"Remember what I told you." The man whispered, giving a last comforting stroke to his shoulder before exiting through the same door he entered, although this time alone. Something inside him always pained leaving the boy in that way, but something inside him had also guiltily wanted it to happen. He wanted things to come into perspective for the boy, and there always did seem to be a good spell of sanity after some correction. This was good for Dick, so why did he still feel that he was doing him a wrong?

"You're going soft Mil." However, the words were spoken through a soft sigh of regret, from a man who knew his heart was unable to give enough care to truly want to fix the boy's world. Broken, heartless, maybe they were the true definitions of humanity, in which case it was defiantly not Dick that had given it to him. No, he had poisoned himself, and he was taking the boy down with him.

* * *

Well, there it is. I was originally going to do Dick's part from his PoV, which is maybe what I think is missing, but I then decided the scene may be too violent and replaced it with Milton's side, which I hope it ok. Maybe I went a little too deep.

As for Jason's, I only wanted to keep that very short, I didn't think much was needed there, but maybe I was wrong. If you have the time, please leave a review to let me know what you thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Make up and Make-up

Disclaimer- I do not own any DC characters, I merely wrote this story.

Unfortunately, for health reasons I have had to take a break from writing, but hopefully I will be back to regular updates soon. Thank you everyone for bearing with me, reading and possibly reviewing.

Some foul language, nothing major.

* * *

It may have been childish- completely ignoring Bruce, but Jason could not be bothered entering another argument, especially on his first day back at school. That place was hell, half-full of two-faced rich brats given anything they had ever wanted and therefore paying a great deal of similarity to Veruca Salt before the whole Chocolate Factory incident and the other half with people thinking they were the best thing since sliced bread and completely irresistible. He was sick of talking to those kind of people, raving about him to his face and complaining about him behind his back, which was also so painfully obvious to see.

"Here we are, Master Jason." The words Jason had been regretting all morning finally came to his ears as Alfred held open the door for the teenager to exit the vehicle.

"See you tonight Alf." He offered as a simple reply as he slumped his bag over his shoulder and dragged himself to the building, trying his best to say out of the main line of sight to avoid another annoying 'how was your break' conversation with people who could not have cared less if he had been ran over seven times by a truck before his reminders were eaten by rabid squirrels.

"Jason!" At least he had tried. Jason twisted himself towards the source of the voice, Marty Hammer. Marty was a grade A pain to the backside that happened to think smashing someone in the face was hilarious and gossiping worse than the girls was even better.

"Hey Marty, how are you?" Jason plastered on his best smile, knowing staying on the good side of Marty was essential for anyone who wished to survive the school year.

"Pretty good, I got a load of chicks over the break." Another of pug-faced boy's favourite pastimes, taking about all 'his' girls (although whether half of it was real was another matter).

"Great." Jason responded, trying his best to look impressed as he followed the other boy into the building.

"Joe, Larry." Marty rushed ahead to greet the other two boys, giving Jason a few peaceful seconds of freedom before being dragged back into the painfully idiotic group.

"Hey guys."

"Hey, I never saw you at all during the week, what have you been up to."

"Just…busy." He offered with a shrug, allowing them to draw whatever conclusion they wanted out of that as he turned his attention to the clock. Ten more minutes until nine, then there is over five more hours of this. Yay.

"You heard from Marina?" Marina Curry, usually noticeable from her tango-like colouring and the stench of daily applied false tan. The group seemed to think she was the perfect girl for Jason, and Jason was completely unable to see anything worse.

"No, as I said I've been busy."

"You givin' me attitude?" Marty snapped, taking a step towards Jason as his very short fuse had faded away.

"I'm just not interested; unlike some people I have a life out of these four walls and really don't care what the dicks in here think about me, so I don't need to make up any stories about girls because I have a face like I've been hit flat by fifty tonnes, or go on about all my money just so people still think I'm good to be around. And you know what, unlike some people I've got a backbone." It was bound to happen at some time, after months of dealing with these people there comes a point where you have to snap, or at least Jason did. It now left him wondering why he had not stood up and said it earlier, actually got some courage together and stop caring what they thought, as he realised that was exactly what he was doing- he was being one of them.

"You know what; stuff your fake smiles, as if I don't know what you've said behind my back because as quickly as you've said it the person you are saying it to tells me. You all just want drama, some big kick off, but if it ever comes back to you you're sucking up to everyone again!" Jason waited for the reply now, or the punch to the face, but the other boys seemed to be shocked into being frozen to the spot, with Marty's mouth opening and closing like a fish as his brain was unable to come up with any intelligent response. Jason took this moment to walk away, wondering if he had just shot himself in the foot. This was not what he had been planning to do today, his temper had broken and he had not thought it through, but still, he need to stand up and tell them what he really thought, even if it would make school an even hotter hell later.

"Hey, Jason! You… you suck!" Wow, three months of his life with that guy that he could get back.

"I am such a dick."

"You better not mean that in a bad way, we Dicks could take offence." Impossible. Jason turned to his left to see Dick sat on top of brick wall next to a scarecrow wearing matching Riddler jumpers that reminded him just who he was dealing with and left him wondering why he was surprised at all.

"You followed me to school."

"No! Well, not really… not to school, we are outside a shop." Jason did not know what to be more concerned about, that Dick had found out what school he went to or he had managed to cross the road without realising what he was doing. Either way, at least he was out the school's sight, the last thing he needed on top of the Marty incident was for people to think he had gone crazy.

"You can't just show up at places, and why do you have a scarecrow anyway."

"I made a deal with the Riddler that if I got his riddle right I could have any three things within fifteen miles that I wanted."

"So you picked a scarecrow and a set of jumpers?"

"Exactly." Jason sighed, knowing picked out the lack of sense within the decision would be pointless with Dick, and instead joined him on the wall, deciding there might as well be something that he does with his spare day now he was defiantly not going back to school.

"Hey, you caused a heck of a lot of trouble you know." He informed Dick, whilst examining the half-stuffed scarecrow, whose head was looking more likely to roll of with each passing moment.

"Me?" There was that innocent 'butter wouldn't melt' voice that he seemed to have completely perfected over the years.

"The smile you cut into the painting." Jason reminded ignoring the funny looks passers-by were giving them as he blocked out the abnormality of the situation.

"Oh right… I'm sorry." Dick offered, concern covering his face.

"It isn't a big deal." Jason reassured, causing Dick to instantly bounce back with a fresh smile. But that was odd, there seemed to be hints of powder resting on Dick's cheek, just below his eye.

"What's on your face?" He found himself asking, although immediately after he began to feel intrusive.

"I fell over." Was the non-explaining answer given, as Dick tucked his face into the scarecrow's side. "Let's go get something to eat." He was obviously changing to change the subject, but Jason felt the need to oblige with it. It was none of his business, after all, although he could not prevent a feeling of concern.

"Alright." He agreed, hoping off the wall and waiting for Dick to follow, which, after several seconds, it became clear he was not going to do.

"Did you get hit?" Dick asked, watching Jason through the corner of one eye as the other side of his face remained buried in the sack that was the scarecrow's 'skin'.

"Excuse me?" He replied, finding his fingers searching his face for some kind of mark that could have given Dick that impression.

"I mean when you got in trouble."

"No, no of course not. It was just a mistake, Bruce was fine with it." Jason reassured once again, although he began to fear this was less about just this incident and more of a comparison.

Jason glanced around to see there were now only a few people passing by, as the school run had now defiantly ended and for many people work had begun, before once again settling on the wall. "What happened?" He questioned, knowing there was now no one with the opportunity to listen in to what was being said.

"Nothing, I was just bad. You didn't get hit because you're not like me, you do things right." Dick wrapped an arm around his scarecrow's neck before jumping off the wall. "I need to go, I have things to do, I'm sorry about the painting."

Within seconds Jason was off the wall with his hand holding on to Dick's arm to prevent him leaving and with his spare hand he wiped a line under Dick's eye. Bright blue with no signs of yellowing showed how fresh the bruise was, as the skin around the edges stayed red showing the powerful force of the hit. The more he wiped, the more was there. Blue, black, red, yellow, the face was littered with damage both old and new, in a scale like nothing Jason had ever received in his time as Robin.

"Who did this?"

"It's my fault; you just don't get like this because you're good." Was the only reply, as Dick seemed to ignore the question while he finally began to squirm under Jason's grip. "And you're hurting me."

Jason let go of Dick's wrist, turning his head away to prevent him from looking at the face again.

"Come with me." He commanded, not stopping Dick from latching onto his arm as he left his scarecrow propped up against the shop wall.

"Where are we going?"

"Home."

* * *

The next chapter is going to sort of carry on from where it has been left off here, and I'm in the middle of deciding where I want to take it next. I have three versions of Chapter 9 to consider, but I'll have to apologise if there is a wait due to the health mentioned earlier. Thanks for reading.


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